Hiding from the Pain, Screaming in my Head
by strawberryfinn
Summary: Zigzag arrives, a scared, vulnerable teenager who is afraid to be hurt. What will the D Tent do to him? R & R.
1. Arrival

NOTE: I do not own the story _Holes_ by Louis Sachar. I do not own the D Tent boys.

Please review. For the readers of my other stories, I am sorry I haven't updated. I run out of inspiration easily, and have a bunch of stories I never finish. Yes, I may never finish them. But with your support, maybe I will :)

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The bus drove along the dusty, rocky road. Ricky sat in the back, glancing ahead, looking at the other people in the bus, and down at his hands - handcuffed. They weren't taking any chances. The driver, a guard, and another boy, charged for criminal actions, just like him. His name was Will, or something like that. He'd tried to rob a cashier. Ricky felt himself chuckle a bit. Will's act seemed completely harmless compared to what he'd done. He'd tried to kill someone. _Attempted homicide_. The guard looked at him every once in awhile, as if scared Ricky would suddenly leap to his feet and kill him. Still, he wouldn't have done it if the guy, his name was Keith Bernstein, a kid in his math class hadn't called him a… _freak_. The word hurt Ricky more than anything anyone could say to him. Yes, he did have acute paranoia. Yes, he did look a bit odd. But he wasn't crazy. He wasn't. _I'm not_, he told himself. _I'm just a little different_. Yet Ricky didn't know how long he could keep on telling himself this excuse. _I'm just a little unwell. I can get better. I'll show Mom and Dad and_-

He stopped. It hurt him to think about his parents. His mother had taken off – because of **him**. Not his dad or anything else in her life, but **him**. He whimpered quietly, but the sound was covered up by the bus rolling to a stop. The guard came back and unlocked the handcuffs. Ricky cowered away, but when the guard left, he stood up.

He stepped out into the billowing dust. He choked on the dirt. His eyes watered, and the intense sun burned his neck.

He was here. Camp Green Lake. The camp for criminal boys.

xxx

Will, or whoever he was, spat on the ground. It dissolved immediately. He cursed under his breath while Ricky looked on with interest.

"Where's the lake?" Will asked.

"Don't be smart boy," said a voice from in front of them. There was a small wooden cabin. "Get in here."

Ricky felt himself tense. _It's ok Ricky. He just wants to check you in. That's right._ He hated his acute paranoia. It made him so vulnerable. Give him one idea, and he'd think of a bunch of harmful possibilities. Numb, he felt his legs move up the steps and into through the door, the guard shoving him along.

Ricky and the kid entered a dark room where a large, beefy man sat at a desk covered in bags of sunflower seeds. He stiffened again, his hairs prickling the back of his neck. _Calm down. It's ok._ _No it's not_, he yelled back to the voice. _He's huge. He might kill me!_

He sat down in a chair, and the kid took a seat next to him.

"My name," the man announced, taking a couple of seeds and stuffing them into his mouth, "is Mr. Sir."

The boy next to him guffawed while Ricky, unblinking, labeled Mr. Sir a potential enemy.

"You think my name is funny?" Mr. Sir roared.

The boy next to him grinned. "Yeah," he said bluntly.

"What's your name boy?" Mr. Sir asked.

"Will. Will Bombers." The boy grinned.

"Well Will, you shouldn't be laughing. You know why?"

Will's smile faded. "Why?"

"Because you're the one who got yourself here, you're the one who's going to be digging holes for the next couple of months, and you're the one who's going to be thirsty. Not me." Mr. Sir reached back into a small refrigerator and pulled out a Coke, which he guzzled, making Will gulp.

"What do you mean by 'dig holes'?" Will asked.

"You take a bad boy. You make him dig holes five feet deep and five feet wide for a while and it turns him into a good boy. You understand?"

"Yes."

"Address me by my name."

"Yes Mr. Sir."

Mr. Sir wheeled around on Ricky. "And you? What's your name?"

Ricky didn't answer. He was terrified, yet he couldn't scream. Actually, he hadn't talked for a while. Not for two days since he was announced guilty.

"Well?" Mr. Sir yelled.

"The kid doesn't talk," said the guard. "Well he hasn't talked to anyone. Take a look at his file."

_A FILE? MY LIFE IS ON THERE IN THE HANDS OF THAT MAN RIGHT THERE!_

Ricky's hair frizzed and his eyes widened, larger than they had been before.

Mr. Sir pulled out a file. Ricky didn't know what he was doing, but he reached out and tried to grab it. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING SON?"

The guard leaped up and grabbed Ricky, shoving him back down into the chair. "Sorry sir." He snapped the handcuffs back on Ricky, and gave Mr. Sir the key. "Let him out when he's calmed down." Ricky felt his hair drift back down, and his eyes became a bit smaller.

"Yeah, I will. He'll need his hands to dig the holes," Mr. Sir muttered. Opening the file, he read, "Ricky Kamikaze. KAMIKAZE? That's Japanese! Suicide Japanese bomber. This kid looks white to me."

"Yeah, his father changed the family's name. The whole family is nutters Mr. Sir. They're crazy the whole lot. _He made them crazy_."

Ricky stiffened again.

"Mom left because she couldn't take it anymore," Mr. Sir read. "Dad was arrested for drinking. And why do they do this?"

His eyes scanned down the page. "Oh. I see. Acute paranoia. No wonder it drives them mad. Hmm… arrested for attempted homicide. What did he try to do?"

"He tried to choke the kid after a failed attempt to staple the kid's hand to the table."

"Hmm," grunted Mr. Sir. "You're not going to be trying any of that here, understand?"

Ricky looked at him with his wide, always frightened looking eyes.

"Doesn't talk eh?"

"No. I guess not."

"Yeah, ok."

The truth was, Ricky could talk. He just didn't like to. He was afraid he might say something bad and give people a chance to hurt him again. And he didn't want to be hurt.

"Ok," Mr. Sir said. He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out two Cokes. He gave them to the guard and said, "Take one for the driver."

The guard nodded and left.

Mr. Sir got some more sunflower seeds and told the boys to follow him.

"Why all the sunflower seeds?" Will asked.

"I quit smoking, and now I eat a pack of these a day," Mr. Sir grunted, leading them into another small cabin. He reached into a shelf and pulled out two packages, throwing one to each of them. Will caught his, while Ricky cowered and the package hit the wall.

"Pick it up," Mr. Sir barked, while Ricky clumsily reached down and got it.

"Now," Mr. Sir continued, "one set of these clothes is your work clothes. The other is your relaxation clothes. Clothes are washed every three days, which is when your relaxation clothes become your work clothes. Understand?"

"Yes Mr. Sir," answered Will, while Ricky just nodded cautiously.

"Good," Mr. Sir grunted. "Pendanski! Warner! Get in here!"

Two men came in the cabin. "Will, you're going with Mr. Warner right here. You're in the A Tent, understand?"

"Yes Mr. Sir," Will said, being led out by Mr. Warner, a long, gangly man.

"And Ricky, you go with Mr. Pendanski. You're in D Tent."

"Come on, son," said Mr. Pendanski.

Ricky followed him, glancing back every now and then as if afraid Mr. Sir would suddenly strike him from behind.

"So, Ricky," Mr. Pendanski said, trying to attempt a conversation and scratch his beard at the same time, "I know you're not a bad boy. You still have a chance. Understand?"

He looked over at Ricky, who just stared back at him. Mr. Pendanski gulped and went on, "The boys at D Tent, they'll like you. They'll be your friends."

_Yeah, sure_, thought Ricky. He'd never had a friend in his life. All of the ones he had had became backstabbers.

Mr. Pendanski led Ricky up to a tent marked 'D'. Several boys walked in, extremely dirty and dusty.

"Hey Mom," one of them called.

Mr. Pendanski attempted a joke with Ricky. "They call me 'Mom'," he said, chuckling.

Ricky stared back at him, his eyes still fixed in their frightened, helpless look. He didn't even smile.

Mr. Pendanski fiddled nervously with his thumbs. "Boys, get over here."

"This," he said, pointing to Ricky, "is Ricky."

The other boys nodded. Ricky heard one of them mutter, "New kid. Fresh meat."

Mr. Pendanski started introducing the others. "This is Rex," he started, but was interrupted by Rex's reply, "It's X-RAY!"

Mr. Pendanski grinned nervously. "They all have their nicknames," he explained to Ricky, "but I like to use their real names."

Slowly, Mr. Pendanski introduced the boys to Ricky, who stood, observing each one of them, registering them into his mind. He'd remember them. He remembered everyone he met, fearing that one day they'd come back for him.

Rex, or X-Ray as he called himself, was obviously the leader. Even though he was almost the shortest one of them, the way he ordered the others around showed that he had power. He was African American and had thick glasses that were so dirty that Ricky couldn't see his eyes through them.

Lewis, or Barf Bag, was a medium-sized kid with dirty blonde hair. He looked extremely depressed. He was obviously a wimp, judging by his name, so Ricky decided not to worry about him. But still, he kept him in mind as a possible enemy. People who looked harmless, weren't always harmless. He'd learned that in the past.

Theodore (Armpit) was a very large African American. Ricky kept in mind that he looked extremely strong, and probably would squish him any time he wanted to.

José (Magnet) was Hispanic. He was a bit on the short side, but he looked like he'd had experience. Ricky would watch out for him.

Zero, (he didn't seem to have another name), was a scrawny kid who always looked angry. He also didn't talk. Yet, Ricky heard that he was the fastest digger. Zero was one of the first kids Ricky couldn't figure out.

The last one was Alan (Squid). He was pretty tall, with dark brown hair. He seemed to have a lot of attitude. Ricky took awhile to figure him out. He could, and would hurt him if he did anything wrong.

Ricky was now terrified. He was staying in a tent with a bunch of boys that would probably kill him. He labeled each of them as a possible enemy. _Stay away from X-Ray (he'll set them all on you, Armpit, Magnet, and Squid. Zero and Barf Bag don't look that harmful. Be careful._

The guys looked at him thoroughly. Ricky knew what they were taking in. His extremely lanky and tall frame (5'9" the last time he measured at age 11), so now at 16, he had to be a lot taller. He was still growing too. His blond hair frizzed out everywhere, and his bright brown eyes with their frequently helpless look. And then his mouth, that didn't say anything.

_I'll be like Zero_, Ricky thought. _I won't say anything. Nothing at all. And no one can hurt me that way._

"Hey Ricky," Armpit called.

Ricky looked up.

"Come on man," Squid called. "Over here."

Ricky froze, sitting on his cot (which was very clean), which Magnet had told him belonged to a guy named 'Soapdish' before he'd disappeared off to somewhere. "He was always trying to brush off the dirt, you see man, and we were all like 'Dude. You're going to be dirty anyway,' but he was like 'Not if I can help it."

Getting up, his legs stiff, Ricky ambled over to them, a very bad attempt of a calm look on his face.

"So what did you get in here for?" X-Ray asked.

Ricky looked nervously at the both of them, not answering.

"What's wrong with you? You mute or something?" asked Barf Bag.

Ricky slowly shook his head 'no'.

"Come on, we won't hurt you," coaxed Armpit, reaching out to him.

Ricky shrank away in fear, his eyes looking even more hopeless.

"Yeah dude," Squid said. "We're nice. See?" He grinned.

"Eh," X-Ray said. "We'll find out. Magnet's coming back."

Sure enough, Magnet came through the D Tent.

"So?" Barf Bag asked him. "Who's this new kid?"

"Yeah, I read the file," Magnet said, answering the question in Ricky's eyes. "Ricky Kamikaze. 16. Diagnosed with acute paranoia, whatever that means--"

"He thinks everyone's out to get him and worries about everything. Basically, he's extremely paranoid," clarified Squid. "One of the kids at my school had it."

"Yeah, ok," Magnet replied. "Anyway, he got sent here because he tried to kill a kid at his school. He didn't die, of course, but they sent him here anyway."

He stopped, looking over at Ricky. "What's wrong with _you_?"

The other kids looked over. Ricky's hair had started to frizz again, and his eyes widened. Growling, he tried to head over at Magnet, as if he could make Magnet stop saying what he had already revealed. He ran over and managed to slap Magnet as hard as he could before Armpit punched him in the stomach. Doubling over, Ricky fell to the floor.

Magnet rubbed his face. "Ow."

"Are you ok Magnet?" Squid asked. "What did you do _that_ for Ricky?"

"Ok, I get it," Magnet said. "He doesn't want you guys to know, I guess. Sorry Ricky, ok? Everything cool?"

Ricky remained on the floor, coughing hoarsely. Then, awkwardly, he stood up, and stalked off. _I've already been HURT! I knew it. Stay away from them. Don't do anything that will offend them._

The other boys, stared astounded as Ricky collapsed on his cot, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

"He's crazy," confirmed Barf Bag.

Ricky, however, was not asleep. In fact, he hadn't slept for two days, just like he hadn't talked. He heard all of it. Words of 'crazy', 'paranoia', and 'freak', came from the other side of the room.

A tear fell from his eye and hit the cot. Rubbing it, Ricky closed his eyes again, and tried to ignore the burning pain he felt in his heart. He went to sleep for a short time, the first time in days.

xxx


	2. Freak

"Poke him," came a harsh whisper.

"No _you_ do it!"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to."

"Wake him up!"

"No, he should hear the bugle."

Groggily, Ricky opened his eyes, glancing over at the faces above him. Jumping, he fell off his cot, while the D Tent boys roared with laughter. Pulling on his work set of orange clothes, Ricky stumbled out of the tent, following the D Tent boys to the Mess Hall. Ricky got in line, and his food, and sat down where the other D Tent boys were. He ate very little – one fourth of the watery cereal, but the whole carton of juice. He hadn't eaten much for two days either.

Squid stared at him. Ricky stared back, until finally Squid had to back away. Nobody could take much of those large, sad, yet angry brown eyes.

Ricky followed the boys outside where they got shovels from a shed.

"Hand me my shovel, would you Ricky?" X-Ray said, pointing to the one Ricky was holding in his hand.

He did, and got another shovel.

"See, my shovel's the shortest one," X-Ray told him.

Armpit joined them. "Smaller shovel, smaller hole."

"You have to dig it five feet deep and five feet wide, measure with the shovel," said Magnet.

Ricky nodded. They all followed Mr. Sir out to the dried lake (Ricky had heard this from Squid), and Mr. Sir instructed them a place to dig. Ricky hit the shovel hard into the dirt, pretending it was Keith Bernstein's face. The dirt splintered, and there was his first shovel.

He didn't find digging as hard as he'd expected. Blisters formed on his hands, and popped again, but he ignored the pain and kept on digging. He'd had worse pain in his life. He shuddered to remember.

He was bored, but he knew what real boredom was like. He knew what real pain was. He knew what real horrification was.

xxx

_Ricky sat in court, dressed in a suit. "You have to make a good first impression," explained his dad. The suit was itchy. He scratched._

_The judge frowned, as did Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein._

_"Ricky Kamikaze," the defender said. "Why did you hurt Keith Bernstein?"_

_Ricky sucked in his breath. "Tell the truth," his father had said. Ricky chose to listen to him. "He called me a freak."_

_"I did not!" protested Keith, a boy nearly as tall as Ricky, but a lot larger._

_Ricky chose to ignore him._

_"Please, silence," the judge said._

_Keith closed his mouth._

_"Why is that word so offending to you?" the defender asked._

_Ricky stared at him. It was like his whole world had frozen. Finally, "It hurts."_

_"I see," the accuser said. "And just because 'it hurts' does that mean that you HAD to hurt Keith?"_

_Ricky stared. "Yes."_

_"Your Honor, in my opinion, this boy is mentally disturbed and will hurt others. The correct solution is to send him off to jail."_

_The judge replied, "I haven't decided the verdict yet."_

xxx

He'd decided that he was guilty, and instead of sending him to jail, Ricky got to come to Camp Green Lake, a camp for bad boys. A car drove up. All the other boys jumped out of their holes and got in line. "Come on Ricky! Water!"

Ricky got out of his hole, and got in line, in front of Squid. Squid grabbed him and shoved him to the back. "You're at the back of the line Ricky."

Ricky stared. Even Zero was in front of him.

He got up in line, got his water filled, and lunch, along with Mr. Sir grunting, "This isn't a Girl Scout Camp."

After eating part of his lunch, (one fourth of his sandwich, some water, and none of the cookie), he went to go back to his hole. Magnet looked at him. "You want your lunch?"

Ricky shook his head 'no.' Magnet took his cookie, split it in half, and gave the other half to X-Ray and Barf Bag. He handed the sandwich to Armpit.

Ricky started to dig his hole again. Zero finished, and so did Barf Bag. X-Ray, Squid, Magnet, and Armpit were still digging. Ricky climbed up out of his hole. He had to go to the bathroom.

After choosing a hole, (nothing living in it), he walked back to his hole. Someone yelled from behind him. Ricky yelped, jumped, and stumbled, falling into his hole and knocking one of the dirt piles in.

The D Tent boys laughed. "Did you see that?" choked Magnet.

X-Ray giggled so hard, tears started forming in his eyes. Armpit roared and slapped X-Ray on the back.

Squid laughed, wheezing, "What a _freak_."

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" Armpit said.

Ricky sat in his hole, humiliated, breathing hard. Tears started to form in his eyes, but he wiped them away, and turned them into anger.

Seething, he leapt out of his hole, grabbing Squid by the collar of his orange shirt. "Don't talk about things you don't understand. Don't scare me and laugh when I fall down. Don't hurt me and laugh when I hurt. Don't laugh me because I'm different. Don't look at me and tell me I'm messed up. And don't," he said, narrowing his voice to a hiss, "call me a _FREAK_."

The boys stared, amazed. Ricky had finally talked, and it hadn't been the way they'd thought it would be.

He grabbed his shovel, and walked off, without finishing his hole. He didn't care what happened to him now. Putting his shovel back in the shed, he ran into the D Tent, and sat on his bed, sobbing, unable to stop the tears.

Meanwhile, back on the lake, Magnet looked at Squid. "What's wrong with him?"

Squid shrugged. "He didn't finish his hole though."

"Busted," muttered Armpit.

"Yeah," said X-Ray.

xxx

Ricky sat in the tent, sniffling quietly to himself. He rubbed the tears away, silencing the memories of his past… the screams of the past, for now. He got up and headed for the Wreck Room, which had been pointed out to him by Mr. Pendanski.

He stepped in, and ignored the stares of the other boys. Sitting in front of a busted television set, he switched it on, only to see the fuzzy gray static. He moved himself to a more comfortable position and sat staring intently at it.

"What the--" said Will. "What are you doing you _freak_?"

Ricky turned and smashed a fist into Will's face. Will's friends from the A Tent immediately joined the fight, tackling Ricky. Ricky found himself drawn to the bottom of the dispute, desperately fighting to get up. He felt himself slammed down, and pinned to the pool table which had bumps and ridges everywhere. Will began to kick him, and Ricky folded over, curling up into a ball, his helpless eyes larger than ever. Then, all of the sudden it was over.

Ricky glanced up and saw all of the boys from the D Tent (excluding Zero) tackling a boy from the A Tent. The B Tent joined in, taking sides with A, while C took sides with D. E and F just jumped in and hit whoever they could. Ricky took this in with amazement. D Tent was on his side? They were _protecting_ him? He felt like it wasn't possible. They _liked_ him.

He shook this thought from his mind. _Of course they don't like me. They just like to fight. This gave them a chance to._

He looked at the mass of boys, screaming and yelping, burst into tears and fled, hiding behind the water spigot where the showers were. He crumbled down, and sobbed into his arms.

Meanwhile, back at the Wreck Room, Barf Bag looked over at X-Ray. "Where's Ricky?"

Armpit shook his head. "Maybe that kid _is_ really crazy."

xxx

Ricky sat at the water spigot until it was dark. He decided just to stay there. _That way, no one can hurt me. Ever._

He heard a slight shuffle, and looked up. It was Squid.

"Ricky?" Squid inquired.

Ricky stared at the teen with his big eyes.

"I just wanted to say that… I just wanted you to know… I'm sorry ok? I didn't know it hurt you that much. I didn't mean it, I promise dude. _Why are you so sensitive to the word 'freak' anyway?_"

Ricky looked away from those eyes. They looked so sympathetic, yet he knew that sympathy never lasted.

Squid took a deep breath, and sat down, staring into Ricky's eyes. "Will you come back to D Tent? Please? Come on, I'll be your friend," he said in a teasing voice.

Ricky looked away, and for once, those unblinking eyes blinked.

"Ricky, it's not as bad as you think it is. Come on, once you get out of here, you still have your life, don't you? I mean, it's not even hopeless for me?"

Ricky looked up, question in his eyes.

Squid looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. My dad left, and my mom… she has problems. I got arrested on the day my dad left us. He beat her up, and when I called the police, he was already gone. They thought I did it to her," he said, biting back the bitter hardness in his voice. "They thought that _I did it_. And she didn't say anything. And the last thing I told my mom before I left was," his voice cracked in pain. "'_I hate you_.' All I want more than anything in this world is to take those words back. But I can't. I don't know how. I know you don't believe me. Nobody ever does. Not even the rest of the guys do, except maybe Magnet. So I don't even know why I'm wasting my time here telling you this. It won't make a difference. You'll never believe me. _Nobody ever does_."

There was silence. Squid turned to leave, wiping his hand over his eyes.

"_I do._"

"What?" Squid asked, turning. "Did you say something Ricky?"

"I believe you," Ricky said, looking into Squid's eyes. "_I believe you_. All my life, I've hated people, I've been afraid they'll hurt me. My paranoia makes me crazy. There are days, I wish that I had never been born. I don't talk to people, because I'm afraid they'll do something… hurtful. I can't be hurt anymore… I can't. My story's the same as yours, Squid. Yes, my mom took off, not my dad, but it's the same. The same pain. The same thing. I want people to like me, but they never do. I want friends, but I never have had one. That's why I turn away… push you guys away like that. I don't mean to… but I'm afraid that… one day I just won't be able to take it anymore…" his voice trailed off.

"I'll be your friend," said Squid, smiling easily. "It's ok, Ricky, trust me. Come on, let's go back to the D Tent. The other guys are probably worrying about us. These guys are ok, Ricky. They're the only true friends I've had in my life."

He started off, and Ricky followed.

xxx

"SQUID, STOP!"

Squid turned around instinctively, instead of looking at the danger ahead. Shoving him out of the way, Ricky hit the ground, hard.

"What is it Rick?" Squid looked around, and suddenly froze, just as Ricky had in his position on the ground. A yellow-spotted lizard crawled cautiously up Ricky's leg, inching up to his face. Moving up to his arm, it got ready to sink it's teeth in, just as Squid took a shovel nearby, and slammed it off. However, he was just a little late. A spot of blood rested on Ricky's arm.

IS HE GOING TO DIE?

How do I know? I don't think so. I'm thinking about a sequel.

Hmm...

that depends on you. :)


	3. Zigzag

haha. i'm glad you likey.

Believing that he still had the chance to live, Squid ripped off part of his shirt and hurriedly squeezed out the poison that was seeping into Ricky's bloodstream.

"Come on Ricky, you're going to make it, come on," he yelped, desperation creeping into his voice as the frizzy-haired boy on the ground did not respond.

Then, Ricky opened one of his eyes. "Squid. It hurts."

"Don't worry," Squid told him. "You'll be ok."

"I think I'm ok," Ricky told him.  
"YOU JUST GOT BITTEN BY A YELLOW-SPOTTED LIZARD – YOU ARE NOT OK!" Squid sobbed.

"It had eleven spots," Ricky said, falling into delirium, "black teeth, a white tongue, red eyes. It was so pretty." His voice sounded dreamy.

Squid sniffled. Picking Ricky up in his arms, he carried him back to the tent. If he was going to die, he would die belonging to the rest of them.

xxx

Squid stumbled into the tent, carrying Ricky. It wasn't that hard. Despite his huge, lanky frame, Ricky didn't weigh that much. At most, around eighty or eighty five pounds. Squid noticed the kid didn't eat that much. Now, he even knew why.

"It's not time to wake up yet," grumbled Magnet when Squid shoved him.

Squid dropped Ricky into his own cot, and shoved Magnet again.

"Stop," murmured Magnet.

"Keep it down," muttered X-Ray.

"I'm trying to sleep," put in Barf Bag.

Squid sat down next to Ricky and started to cry. Sniffling quietly first, and then more loudly and desperately.

"Squid man, what's wrong?" Magnet asked, concerned, finally getting up.

Squid pointed numbly at Ricky who was now moaning feverishly and coughing – shivering, even though it had to be at least ninety degrees.

"What happened?" Barf Bag said, rubbing his eyes sleepily, joined by X-Ray.

"What's wrong with him?" demanded Armpit.

Squid covered his face and didn't answer.

Magnet pushed him. "SQUID WHAT HAPPENED?"

Squid was sobbing now; even Zero looked up.

"Y-yellow spotted l-lizard," he finally managed to gasp. "It tried to bite _me_, and he took it instead."

"Oh no," said Magnet quietly. "It bit him?"

"I'm not sure – I think so," Squid said breathlessly.

"Squid," whimpered Ricky. "It hurts." Then he giggled furiously. "I ate an onion today Squid." He laughed. "I hate onions." (The onions managed to fight against the poison somehow. Onion Sam and his tonic?)

"He's delirious," diagnosed Barf Bag.

"No, he's just crazy," put in X-Ray.

Zero got up. The boys looked at him. He went over, looked at Ricky and said simply, "He'll live."

The other boys were flabbergasted. They had never heard Zero say a word before.

"What do _you_ know?" Armpit asked.

Zero shrugged. "He'll live."

He was right, too. Ricky was alive the next morning, though he was more feverish than before.

"What are we going to do?" asked Squid. "He can't go out and dig holes; he's too sick."

"He didn't even sleep last night," put in Barf Bag.

"We should ask Mom," said X-Ray. "Maybe he'll give him a day off?"

"Yeah right," scoffed Armpit. "They'll never do that. '_This is not a Girl Scout Camp_,'" he said, mimicking Mr. Sir.

"And besides," reminded Magnet. "He didn't finish his hole yesterday."

"Yeah," said X-Ray. "That's why we didn't give him a name. Every person has to actually _dig_ a hole first."

Ricky coughed harshly on the cot. Magnet slammed him on the back. Perhaps this was supposed to be a gesture of kindness, but it caused Ricky to start whimpering.

"I think he deserves one," pleaded Squid. "I promised him he'd be one of us. _Please_. He took that lizard for me. Isn't that better than digging a hole?"

X-Ray shrugged. "Yeah ok. Zigzag's a good guy."

The newly named Zigzag coughed hoarsely again.

"Wait," said Barf Bag. "Here's Mom."

Approaching Mr. Pendanski, Squid asked, "Does Ziggy have to dig? He's sick."

Mr. Pendanski scoffed. "What do you think this is? A Girl Scout Camp?"

"That's Mr. Sir's line," Squid said.

Mr. Pendanski ignored him. "He'll dig. But today he has to dig two holes. He didn't finish the one from yesterday."

review? i'm sorry this chapter is a tad bit short.


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